CLOSED TO ORDINARY PEOPLE BEFORE RED TAKEOVER
By Bob Van Leer

  (BEIJING, CHINA, Oct. 13, 1991) - The featured activities of today were a visit to the Forbidden City, the start of the Beijing Marathon and another fabulous banquet.
The Forbidden City is China's most imposing architectural masterpiece. It is located in the heart of Beijing just two blocks down Chang'an boulevard.

  From the balcony of our 14th floor room we have a sweeping view of the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square and the Great Hall of the People just south of the Forbidden City.
The Forbidden City is the Grounds of the Imperial Palace and was forbidden to ordinary people until the Communist takeover in 1949. It covers 250 acres and is surrounded by a wide moat and a 35 foot high wall.

  It was built originally in the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) and was reconstructed in the third Ming Dynasty and finished in 1420. During a 14 year period hundreds of thousands of workers participated in building the palaces.

  It was sacked by the Manchus and restored under the Quing Dynasty. Nearly all of the buildings are two story. The complex contains six main palaces and many smaller buildings. Together they total over 9000 rooms. The grounds are divided into two sections. The south gate is the main entrance.

  In the south sections there are three public halls from which the Ming and Qing emperors conducted state ceremonies. The north part of the complex was the living area of the 24 emperors. The emperors rarely, if ever, left the palace complex.

  A three hour tour doesn't begin to do just to the palace. Every way you look including down you see architectural masterpieces.

  The palace is one of the prime tourist attractions in China and thousands of people were going through at the same time as our little group.

Beijing Marathon

  We attended the start of the Beijing Marathon because two of our party were running, brothers Angelo and Emerson Lynn, Angelo is 38, is the publisher of The Addison Press, Middlebury, Vermont. Emerson, 40, is co-publisher of the St. Albans Messenger. St. Albans, Vermont. Both are experienced marathon runners but were not prepared for the status of the Beijing event which is world-class. Only about 380 runners from around the world were allowed to enter. Emerson finished the race with a time of around 252 minutes for the 26.2 mile course. Angelo dropped out at the first checkpoint at 15 miles.

Another Banquet

  In the evening we were hosted to a briefing and banquet by Zhou Mu Zhi, director of the Information Office of the State Council. We were never quite clear on what the office does except it appears to have a very high rank and supervision over other agencies. His vice minister was the former ambassador to France so he must rank quite high.

  The dinner was an elaborate affair with another dozen courses. It would rank high in our experience had it not been for an even grander banquet just two nights ago.

  Peking duck is our favorite and now we even know how to eat it. It is served as slices of duck with a couple of sticks of vegetables on a thin tortilla-like sheet. The approved way it to roll it all up in a tight roll, fold up the bottom of the roll, and eat it like a burrito.

  I've now eaten shark stomach four or five times and I don't think I will ever learn to like it. Zhou said he did not eat like this at home. He said a normal meal would be two or three courses and soup.

  In the briefing and conversation around the table we had more give and take than we had in earlier sessions. Zhou, a former head of the New China News Agency, said the door of China is open to the whole world.

  He said, "The sole purpose of our office is to let the people of the world have a better understanding of China". And then he said a second purpose is to improve the work of other departments in the government such as foreign trade companies, the press and travel agencies.

  According to him some foreign countries (read U.S.) have a misunderstanding of the free press in China. He said newspapers in China only have one restriction, they can't violate the constitution.

  But we could not find out just how specific the constitution is. He did say it is clearly stated in the constitution that China is a socialist country.

  He said there is a lot of criticism in Chinese newspapers. There are no privately owned newspapers in China. They are owned by the government, Communist Party of China, or organizations. 

  Replying to a question he said he was not really satisfied with American coverage of China. The press only picks up one point and neglects the rest. He said the point may be true but is not representative.

Tiananmen square

  Zhou claimed that the events in Tiananmen Square were engineered by a few and most seen in the square on the TV screens were onlookers.

  He said there were errors on the part of the government in handling the situation. The government should have seen the problem and nipped it in the bud but action wasn't taken in time. Then Prime Minister Zhao Ziyang was sacked in the wake of the riots.

  Zhou said Zhao doesn't have a specific job now and his case is still under investigation. Zhou claimed the U.S. would have done the same thing if this happened in front of the White House.

  He said police were not firing and were attacked by crowds using guns. He personally saw a soldier beaten to death. He said the army had no other way. Guns were used when the army's patience was gone.

  The young man seen on TV in front of the tanks he said was an example of army control. The tanks could have run over him. He was pulled away by friends. Zhou said the young man was not arrested, they don't even know who he is. A news report used a name which they investigated but there was no one by that name. From this we concluded they did want to find the man and ran down every lead they had. Not said is what they would have done with him if they had found him.

  In a purge of the Communist party after the incident Zhou said that only a few members were read out. Otherwise China could not be as stable if there were more problems in the party.

No Party Collapse

  Zhou rejected comparisons with European Communist parties. He said you can't take it for granted that the CPC will collapse when the Russian and East European parties do. "If the party brings happiness to the people why explode over it?" Because the people are not happy with the government doesn't mean they want to over throw it. On Marxist-Leninist theories he said China applies the theories of these old people with real circumstances.

Like Capitalism?

  One of our party said Marxism interpreted by China looks like capitalism. Zhou said most of the Chinese economy is based on public ownership. Other forms of business are allowed but with public ownership as the backbone. China has to have a planned economy but with market adjustments.

  In the past the government controlled 70-80 percent of the economy but it is now less than 20 percent. Basics are controlled such as grain and steel production. Housing is improving, most notably in the country.

75 Square Feet

  Country dwellers now have 193.7 square feet of living space per capita while the figure is only 75.3 in the cities.

  All along this trip we were getting the hard sell from the Chinese. They want U.S. tourists and U.S. business and make no bones about it. Zhou said, "Take back home what you have seen in China and the friendship of the Chinese people to the U.S. There is no hostility to Americans". He is correct in this. What we have found so far is curiosity and helpfulness. My bad knee acted up and I wanted to buy a cane. I found a man with one and, in sign language, tried to find out where I could buy one. 

  The man finally understood I wanted to buy a cane so simply handed me his. He wouldn't accept anything, just smiled and walked away.

  Zhou acknowledged indirectly that China is having a hard time getting students sent overseas to come home. His assistant said 150,000 students were sent abroad and 50,000 have returned home so far. But he said not all have completed their education yet. He said if they want to stay abroad it is by their own will but they are welcome back. China needs their skills. He believes the majority will come back. Our morning flight to Xian was cancelled so we will be going in the evening. This gives us another day in Beijing and we are to start with a visit to the Summer Palace.